1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to embroidered art works and, more particularly, to a method for affixing a three dimensional polychromatic graphic to a fabric.
2. Prior Art
Embroidery is the art of decorating material, usually a textile fabric, by means of a needle and thread. The basic embroidery technique includes running stitches, satin stitches and fill stitches sewn on a substrate. An embroidering apparatus is operated to move an embroidery frame, which has a work or cloth held thereon to be embroidered, in the X-and Y-directions relative to the vertically reciprocating needle, thereby to form the embroidery stitches on the work. The embroidering apparatus generally includes two essential elements for moving the embroidery frame in the X-direction and in the Y-direction respectively.
Embroidery machines embroider an embroidery fabric in accordance with a computer-specified program. Since embroidery patterns are usually multi-colored, different-colored threads must be stitched in the embroidery pattern. This means that for one embroidery pattern, the embroidery thread must be changed multiple times. Currently, embroidery machines have automatic thread changers for up to twelve threads. If the design has more thread colors than the machine has needles, thread change must take place for sewing the correct sequence of colors required to construct the desired pattern. Such an additional colored thread must be manually pulled through a needle in preparation for sewing.
Embroidery sewing machines for producing an embroidery pattern in an embroidery area on a work sheet are well known in the art. Such machines produce a pattern by filling the embroidery area with stitches by means of a stitch-forming device having one or more sewing needles, each of which carries a colored thread. The needles reciprocate in an axial direction and a needle-thread catcher cooperates with the sewing needle to form the stitches into the work sheet. Such embroidery machines further may include a displacing device which displaces the stitch-forming device and the work sheet relative to each other; and a control device which controls the stitch-forming device and the displacing device so that a predetermined portion of the embroidery area is filled with mixed stitches formed of a plurality of color. Each color in the embroidered pattern corresponds to different needle threads. Due to the complexity of such multi-needle embroidery machines and the time required to embroider a polychromatic pattern on a fabric, it is an advance in the art to provide a method for producing polychromatic embroidery that requires the use of only a single colored (or white) thread for embroidering the pattern on the fabric. By using a four-color process for sublimation printing, subtle color blends and photorealism can be realized that cannot otherwise be achieved employing prior art embroidery methods that use spot color technology to construct a polychromatic embroidered pattern.